There was a knock on the door. "Snowball...Snowball!" Snowball sighed and walked towards the door, then opened it. 9-year-old River was stomping her foot behind the door. She briskly walk past her brother and started rummaging around in his things. Snowball hesitated, confused. "Umm...and you are doing what, exactly?" Without turning round, River starts speaking. "Someone has STOLEN my colouring pencils, all 72 shades!" River announces dramatically. Snowball starts laughing. "It wasn't me...Mother took them away to be sharpened. I thought you knew!" River starts blushing. Trying to be dignified, River raised her head and walked out of the room. "I'm going to the river."
Sitting on the blanket, River stared at her river and trailed her hand in the water. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "Guess who?" River turned around. "Aaron!" Aaron was her bestest friend in the whole wide world. She ran up to him and they hugged. "You're back!" said River. "Yes! And I got something for you." From his pocket, Aaron fished out a packet of seeds. "They're Cautleya seeds. They grow up to be flowers with bright yellow and deep red petals." "Thank you, so much! I shall plant them right away!" exclaimed River. River's collection of flowers along her river bank was rapidly growing. "I can ask Father to help you. They are rather difficult to plant, even I can't plant them!"
2 hours later, Snowflake came running down. "River, have you SEEN the time? You're 2 minutes late for Mrs Cambridge's ballet lesson. Me and Snowball have already had our twin musical rehearsal. Mother's birthday is tomorrow!" River paused. "I'm so sorry! Bye, Aaron! I have to go!"
River arrived at Mrs Cambridge's lesson, out of breath. "Straighten up and breath properly. It is unladylike to be as you are now. It is also unladylike to be late. And you are 3 and a half minutes late." But River did not respond. She sat down. She felt very ill. She closed her eyes. "This is not the time! It's your mother's birthday tomorrow!" But River still did not hear her.
